East Germans in Apartheid South Africa?
South Africans have been buying cars that were produced in the Zwickau-Chemnitz-Zschopau triangle of Germany since 1933. The DKW, known as a very tough and virtually indestructible little vehicle, sold exceptionally well until the outbreak of World War Two in 1939 and became a legend in South African car history.
In July 1933 the first consignment of DKW's arrived in South Africa, a country where until then, heavy American/Canadian and British medium and small cars dominated the market. This coincided with the visit of the South African Minister of Transport, the German speaking Oswald Pirow, to Adolf Hitler. As a result of this meeting, further meetings between officials of the two governments followed and resulted in a bi-lateral trade agreement. According to the agreement, South Africa would from January 1935 export a large part of their wool crop to Germany and receive credit for buying manufactured goods, mostly cars, Henschel locomotives and Junkers aircraft.
In 1934 the DKW was advertised by the firm Williams Hunt as "Der deutsche Volkswagen" which was sold at £ 245, a price reduced to £ 197-10 shillings after the trade agreement came into effect in 1935. The price remained the same until the outbreak of hostilities in September 1939. The popularity of the DKW in particular, can be attributed to two facts; the excellent reputation of German manufactured goods among Afrikaners as superior to those from other countries, and advertising.
In 1938 Dr DF Malan, the leader of the National Party, wrote in a letter that Afrikaners preferred German motor cars and that they wanted to see the increased importation of such vehicles. This glorification of German engineering probably stems from the time of the Boer War when the lives of the Boers depended on the accuracy and reliability of their Mauser rifles, armament that proved to be superior to that used by their British enemies.
DKW, as a branch of the powerful Auto Union group, also made good use of the racing successes of the large 16-cylinder Auto Union racing cars. In 1937 two of these racing cars took part in the South African Grand Prix races in East London and Cape Town where they thrilled the spectators. Following the success of the racing cars in Cape Town, advertisements appeared the very next day in the newspapers in which the ordinary DKW was portrayed as coming from the same factory as the special racing cars!
When the post-war DKW was reintroduced to South Africa in 1955, it immediately sold well because of its pre-war reputation and the fact that the importers regularly entered cars in rally and racing events in South Africa and neighbouring Mozambique; an effective way of getting free publicity.
During 1956 trade missions from the Federal Republic of Germany visited South Africa and vice versa. South African cabinet ministers visited German car plants and German ones the South African gold mines. The result was an increase of permits for German cars to be sold in South Africa. Among the German manufacturers who now marketed their vehicles in South Africa were Messerschmitt, Heinkel and Fulda who produced mini cars which were totally unsuitable for South African conditions. Yet they sold - even if only in small numbers - because of their reputation that they were "Made in Germany"!
In the wake of the influx of some of these obscure and unknown German manufacturers, some South African entrepreneurs saw a gap and succeeded in getting the franchise for the East German Wartburg and Zwickau cars and IFA motorcycles, the direct successors of the pre-war DKW and BMW production plants.
In the Transvaal the firm Kolimpex was established in 1957 at 128 Main Street, Johannesburg, to represent the Eisenacher Motoren Werke and to organise a dealership and spare parts and service network. In September 1957 they announced that they have already appointed thirty four agents throughout the four provinces with major dealerships in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Bloemfontein and Cape Town. In the trade journal of the car industry - The South African Garage & Motor Engineer - the Wartburg was announced as a "Continental (European) newcomer to SA". No mention was made of its country of origin - the DDR.
When the Wartburg was publicly released in South Africa during August 1957, descriptions and photographs were published in the various Afrikaans and English daily newspapers as well as the major motoring magazine of the time, CAR.
An advertisement accompanied with a picture of the new model car was published in a Cape Town newspaper by the local agents, Krupp Motor Company of 87 Strand Street. In the advertisement the Wartburg was acclaimed as "The sensational ultra-continental low priced car with luxury class car features". The car was advertised at the price of £724 and it was mentioned that the kombi and sports coupe versions would be available "soon". Nowhere was it mentioned that the Eisenacher Motoren Werke was situated in East- Germany.
During its first year in South Africa, the Wartburg sold in fair numbers; according to official statistics 149 cars were sold between its public release in August and December 1957. This compared well with the sales figures of the British Singer (124) and Swedish Volvo (110) introduced in South Africa in the same year.
More than a year passed before Krupp again advertised in a newspaper again. Only in December of 1958 did the company publicise the fact that the Wartburg was now available in right-hand-drive and that the few left-hand-drive models they still had in stock, could be bought for £ 50 less than the new price of £ 825. The illustration of the car in the advertisement now also showed the steering wheel on the right hand side. This was probably taken from an advertisement destined for the British market.
At the end of 1957 a list of South African Wartburg dealers appeared in the Motor Trade and Commercial Transport Year Book for Southern Africa as well as IFA motorcycles.
In 1957 the Zwickau was also introduced on the South African market and was shown for the first time at the Pretoria Motor Show which took place from 30 August to 7 September. The car was put on display by the importers, Kimberley Export Company (Pty.) Ltd who advertised the Zwickau as "made in East-Germany". Between then and the end of December 1957, at least eight had been sold. Although the Zwickau was not included in the official government statistics of new car sales by make that year; it apparently was included under the heading of "other makes" which comprised of 123 unspecified cars.
Towards the end of 1957 the complete range of Wartburg models and the Barkas commercial vehicles were available on the South African market. The prices were fixed by the South African government which controlled the car industry which was still suffering under wartime measures. Strict import quotas were maintained and permits could be obtained only with difficulty. The prices ranged from £ 681 for the Barkas Kamionette to £ 845 for the Wartburg Cabriolet. Strangely, the Zwickaus were not yet included in the price lists published in the Government Gazette during the year. It was only in September 1958 that the prices of the full range of Zwickaus and other DDR vehicles were published. The sedan sold for £ 627, the kombi for £ 627 and the stylish coupé for £ 738. The top of the range from the DDR was the Wartburg Sports Coupé at £ 1 433. At this price it competed directly with the similarly sleek West-German DKW 1000 Special (£ 1 442) and Borgward Isabella TS Coupe (£ 1 434).
Unlike the Wartburg, which immediately after its launch sold in fair numbers, the Zwickau only gained ground in 1958 when pictures of the cars were published in the daily newspapers and car magazines; no proper advertisement is to be found in a motoring magazine of this period. Zwickau also suffered from the fact that it did not have a proper sales network in South Africa; Zwickaus were sold mostly in the Transvaal and northern areas. In Cape Town a small and unknown company, Servwell Motors, was appointed as agents for the tough little successor of the pre-war DKW. Only in Kimberley did Open Mine Motors sell both Wartburg, Zwickau and Barkas vehicles.
The year 1958 was a successful one for the DDR companies; 128 new Zwickaus were sold through its small dealer network. The Wartburg sales organisation was reorganised with Benefit Service Station now serving the important Transvaal market. Altogether 273 Wartburgs were sold through its nationwide sales organisation. Yet for the Zwickau the time was running out. Production of the P70 range was stopped in the DDR in 1959 to make room for the improved new Trabant - and the start of a new German legend. Only 43 of the discontinued P70's were sold in 1959 and the Kimberley Export Company in Johannesburg announced in August that year that they had stopped importing Zwickaus in favour of Volga cars from Russia.
In 1959 the Wartburg distributors in Bloemfontein, Kolbe Motors, entered a Wartburg in one of the major motor sport competitions in South Africa, the Mobilgas Economy Trial - a national rally in which the car with the lowest fuel consumption in its class was declared winner. Previously Borgward and DKW took successfully part in these events and benefitted from free advertisement which resulted in increased sales. The car entered by Kolbe Motors suffered the ironic fate of running out of fuel between refuelling points and was disqualified. Although its direct competitor, DKW-Auto Union, did not gain a first place in this event, it did score a number of first places in other national rallies.
In 1959 sales of Wartburg cars declined and only 76 were sold. Rumours that the company was pulling out of the country must have contributed to this decline in sales. As a result of these rumours, the new company which was established in South Africa to sell Wartburgs, Pierreux Afrique, denied the rumours and stressed the fact that the new models sold in South Africa were much improved to suit the tough African roads better and that the organisation now had 46 fully equipped workshops. The new cars were all sold with right-hand-drive, fully synchronised gearboxes and heavier shock absorbers. Apparently these new cars were built in the Belgian assembly plant of which the director, F. Pierreux, held the major shares in the South African firm, Pierreux Afrique.
In 1960 yet another company became the franchise holders for Wartburg; this time Pierreux Afrique appointed Coopers Motors of Main Street, Johannesburg, to distribute their products which were exhibited at the Belgian stand during the Union Show in May 1960. Coopers Motors advertised the "new" Wartburg, distinguished by a new radiator grille and bright colours, as the "sensation of the show" and that a comprehensive range of vehicles were available - Limousine, kombi, De Luxe Camping, panel van, pickup and a two door "Sportwagen".
Despite the advertisements, and a number of press releases by Pierreux Afrique that all was well with Wartburg, the buyers could not be persuaded to change their DKW's for Wartburgs; in 1960 only 72 vehicles were sold. In 1961 they did even worse; only 58 of the DDR-Belgian cars were sold. This despite the fact that owners of Wartburgs were highly satisfied with the performance and tough construction of their cars; one proud owner wrote in a car magazine that there was no comparison between the three Volkswagens he owned previously and his new Wartburg. He suggested that the main agents, at that time Coopers Motors, make a car available to a motoring magazine to publish a test report and to publicise the good qualities of the Wartburg. This sensible suggestion was never taken up and nowhere was a test report of a Wartburg published.
In 1961 the franchise for Wartburg changed hands again. The new importer was a Mr De Vries who owned Friso-Garage in Alberton on the Witwatersrand. De Vries not only supplied the whole country with Wartburg spares but also imported Zwickau spares and marketed the new Trabant. He also invited the technical staff of an Afrikaans car magazine - the only one at the time - to do a driving test. The reporter was highly impressed with the tiny car which could easily be driven at 95 km/h but criticised the unsynchronised gearbox. According to the test report, the Trabant compared favourably with the sporty NSU Prinz which sold quite well in the Transvaal where they were often seen on the race track and in rallies.
The number of Trabants sold are unknown since they do not feature in the official government statistics; apparently not enough were sold to ensure them a place under a separate listing. De Vries did manage however to sell 58 Wartburgs in 1961. This was however the last time sales figures for DDR cars are shown; they seem to have simply faded away.
The lack of confidence in the car, or rather the firms who sold the East-German cars, is reflected in the low second-hand value of the cars. A 1959 Wartburg Sports Coupé with a detachable hard top, and which covered only 8000 km, was offered for sale in 1960 for only £ 695; the owner paid £ 1433 for it during the previous year. Also, well informed South Africans might have taken note of the trade boycott propagated by the DDR already since 1959 and which might influence the availability of spare parts.
Yet, despite the official economic boycott of the DDR against the Republic of South Africa, which became effective in 1963, trade did go on.
From 1971 to 1973 an imported camping trailer from Holland, the Karrikamper, was displayed at the annual Goodwood Show in Cape Town and sold by the firm De Wet Brothers of Stellenbosch at the low price of R 450. As the comparable South African-built camping-trailer, the Touraway, cost R 800 at that stage, the Karrikamper was an immediate success on the local market. It also had a very refined swing-axle suspension which made it extremely stable when towed, even on dirt roads. The Karrikamper was also well equipped with a gas stove and kitchen and in all respects superior to the Touraway. New owners of these camping-trailers were also supplied with a comprehensive handbook in English to master the technique of erecting the tent and the wiring of the 7-pin electrical coupling; at that stage a novelty on the South-African market where 5-pin couplings were used.
The majority of owners of Karrikampers - of which many are still running in South Africa - probably do not know that they are in fact owning a product made in the DDR. The DDR content only became visible with the passing of time as wear and tear set in. The first to show was the awkward tyre size as well as the unknown tyre make - "Pneumat", the next parts that needed replacement were the ball bearings which were also marked "Made in the DDR".
The "German connection" of the Karrikamper became known only by chance. During a visit to Stellenbosch, a South African missionary in Malawi, reverend Pieter Botha, saw the Karrikamper on display at De Wet Brothers. As he had to pay import duty in both South Africa and Malawi, he received the address of the Dutch supplier from De Wet Brothers to import the Karrikamper directly to Malawi.
Botha ordered five of the "Dutch" camping-trailers for him and his fellow missionaries. When the consignment arrived in Malawi, they were astonished that they were not "Karrikampers" but "Alpenkreuzers"! As the trailers were exported to a "neutral" African country, the Dutch company did not bother to hide the origin of the Alpenkreuzers.
Like the Wartburgs and Trabants, the Alpenkreuzers were available on the South African market for a limited time only. In all these cases they were imported through third countries; Belgium and Holland.
If not for sanctions, the export of East-German vehicles to South Africa could have been a success story. The designs of the cars and camping-trailer were good although metal fatigue set in fairly early in the suspensions of both cars and trailers - the African roads they were driven on were more harsh than in Europe. But this also applied to the very successful Borgward Isabella which was introduced on the South African market only two years before the Wartburg.
f the Wartburg had been marketed more aggressively with nation wide advertising in the popular press, and cars entered in rallies and motor races by the importers, the Wartburg could well have been one of the top sellers in South Africa. In car rallies in Western Europe, the Wartburg did extremely well. The somewhat harsh suspension also made it an ideal car for the bad dirt roads of the South African countryside. Also, the fact that the Wartburg had four doors, instead of the two of the Borgward, was a clear advantage on a market where two-door cars were - until then - a rarity.
Pictures:
Trabbi 01: Unter den Linden; East Berlin, 1987
Trabbi 02: Berlin Missionary Society HQ, Georgenkirchstrasse, East Berlin, 1987
Trabbi 03: Unter den Linden; East Berlin, 1997
Trabbi 04: Berlin 1997
Trabbi 04: Berlin 1997
